Corps to Suspend Work on 150 Projects Across U.S.

The Army Corps of Engineers is suspending work on about 150 congressionally approved water projects to review the economics used to justify them, an unprecedented response to criticism of Corps analyses inside and outside the Bush administration.

Maj. Gen. Robert Griffin, director of the Corps’ civil works program, said the Corps will immediately stop work on billions of dollars’ worth of active public works projects that are not yet under construction.

Griffin said any project with a pre-1999 economic analysis will need a new analysis before it can proceed. The Corps will also review newer projects where questions about economics, engineering or the environment “may have resulted in significant changes in project justification or support.”

The Corps will not provide a list of affected projects until the end of the week, but sources said they will include scores of the agency’s most controversial efforts to build levees and pumps for flood control, dredge rivers and ports for navigation, and pump sand onto beaches for recreation.

Corps spokesman Homer Perkins said he assumed the list would include such projects as a $165-million flood control pump in the Mississippi Delta to a $690-million widening of a New Orleans barge canal.

An analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense found $8.1 billion worth of projects with economic analyses from before 1992.

“This action is part of a more comprehensive initiative to ensure that Corps projects are a sound investment for our nation and are proposed in an environmentally sustainable way,” Griffin said. “It is essential that Corps projects keep up with the pace of change.”

Environmentalists and fiscal conservatives hailed the announcement, saying the Corps finally seems to be acknowledging the problems they have complained about for years.

In December 2000, even an internal Pentagon investigation concluded that Corps studies were tainted by a deep institutional bias toward approving large-scale construction projects the agency would then get to build itself.

“The pressure has been building, and it looks like the dam is starting to break,” said David Conrad of the National Wildlife Federation. The critics did warn that the Corps might be trying to create an illusion of action to prevent a growing cadre of would-be reformers from taking real action. President Bush’s budget called for deep cuts and major changes at the Corps, and a congressional Corps Reform Caucus formed in 2000 has built momentum for legislation to overhaul the agency. In March, Bush budget director Mitchell Daniels Jr. helped engineer the ouster of Corps civilian chief Michael Parker, who had complained publicly about the proposed budget cuts.

Parker’s ouster provoked a firestorm of outrage on Capitol Hill; one House Democrat recommended that he should get a tickertape parade for pushing for more money for the Corps.

Howard Marlowe, a lobbyist for communities with beach projects, said Congress will not be happy if the reviews cause delays and cost overruns to projects it has already approved.

“It all depends how much review is required,” Marlowe said. “It’s a good idea for the Corps to be diligent about its economics. It’s good damage control, and it’s good quality control as well. The question is: What’s the next step?”

In his statement, Griffin described the action as a “limited review,” saying that some projects will proceed quickly, while others may require more serious review.

He said that “Corps projects across the nation protect lives and property, improve our quality of life and ensure and enhance the nation’s environment, economic prosperity and national defense.”